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911 He's Not an Officer
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina Date: September 3, 1991 Story On September 3, 1991 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, real estate agent Lynn Feist was on her way to her final appointment when she passed the Chapel Hill Police Station. Minutes later a young man in a red Ford Mustang passed flashing a badge at her. Suspicious of the man flashing a badge at her, Lynn called 911 on her car phone and gave dispatcher Terry Russell the tag number of the Ford Mustang and her location. Russell ran the tag number and got the results. He called her back and told her no officer had that tag number and the badge was fake. He immediately passed the information to police dispatcher Jeff McPhee and sent a real officer to investigate. Lynn fallowed the car to a parking garage and waited for the police to arrive as she let both Russell and McPhee know where they are driving. It was the scariest 10 minute wait ever because they feared the police impostor could engage in road rage, rape Lynn, have a gun, or rob Lynn of her money. The man realized the gate was out of order so he went to the next one and Lynn waited outside for the police who arrived 5 minutes later as she pointed Officer Robert Carton to the gate the man entered through. Officer Carton went inside the garage checking each level for the car. On the top level, he found the suspect, whose name was James Reynolds, heading towards the elevator. When Reynolds was ignoring him, Officer Carton got out and followed him and asked if he owned a Mustang. He said no, but Officer Carton saw his Ford keys and the car was searched. Inside its console was the fake badge. "I don't think I got a truthful answer out of him on where he got the badge and I never could get an answer out of him what his intentions were to stop the lady," Officer Carton stated. Reynolds was found guilty of impersonating an officer and sentenced to 5 years in prison with a $1,000 bond. "It was not until afterwards that I thought of the reasons why this man was trying to pull me over. I was not concerned at the time that this was all happening that I was going to robbed, raped, and assaulted. I became really suspicious when I realized it was a little bit silly for a off-duty police officer to worry about a woman speeding 42mph in a 35mph zone," Lynn recalled. The good judgment and courage under pressure that Lynn displayed during the incident particularly impressed her family. "Mom thought pretty fast to pick up the phone and check to see if this guy was real. I'm proud that she was able to take this situation into her own hands and take control of it. I'm proud she caught this guy," Lynn's son stated. "He undermined what we value and trust. We never have thought that anywhere if we stopped for a police officer, he might not be real," Lynn stated. "I think the best thing that has come out of all of this is that a lot of people have learned from it. I learned to...be a little more cautious and to think ahead," Lynn's daughter stated. "Here in the North Carolina, state law says to stop the vehicle, you must activate not the blue light, but also the sirens. If you do not believe who we are, we much rather you go to an occupied location, let us follow you there, and you feel safe. The scary thing to stop by any police officer anywhere, but the one who goes up to your car when you realize it's not a police officer. It's gonna put a chill down to your spine," Officer Carton stated. Category:1991 Category:Crimes Category:North Carolina